Happy Birthday Lea Marie!

There is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion, an interpretation, of one’s self, the very meaning of one’s soul. //Edith WhartonMiss Lea Marie is my very best friend, and this year marked her 'Champagne Birthday', 25 on the 25th, so we knew she had to do it big. It is hard to explain our friendship, we are essentially the same person. We have the same mind, the same humor, and our own language. She laughs, I laugh, she cries, I cry. It's been that way since the moment we met and I hope it stays that way forever. I hope everyone is able to have as good and as close and as silly of a friendship as I have with Lea at some point in their lives, it really is a blessing and I do not take it for granted. Lea decided to rent a rooftop cabana at the Revere Hotel Rooftop in Boston, MA and it ended up being the perfect night. The rooftop was really nice and the cabana was huge. She had about 25-30 people coming and it was more than enough room for everyone to hang out and relax or mingle. It was the perfect temperature and a gorgeous clear night. She had friends from work, friends from college, friends from home, as well as family show up to celebrate her. It really goes to show the caliber of a person that Lea is with so many people showing up to celebrate her from near and far. We ordered a bunch of appetizers and champagne and drinks, and it was just such a great time. I can honestly say I haven't had that much fun on a night out in awhile. My birthday was really fun this year as well, but it's in February, so it really just can't even compete. She is my little Lea the Leo with the perfect summer birthday!I get out of work early on Fridays during the summer, so I headed straight up to Boston in fear of the usual traffic I always hit, but of course the one time I can be fashionably late, I got there annoyingly early. Murphy's Law I tell ya, gets me every time. I was the first to get there but it actually was nice to sit and relax a bit with a glass of champs before the chaos ensued. The calm before the "fun" storm.

The BIRTHDAY GIRL arrived!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYY!!!!!!

Our hostest for the night. She gave me the scoop on who else would be there that night since I got there way before everyone and she felt obligated to entertain me.

The beautiful skyline form the rooftop! You could see Southie to the left.

Big thanks to Lea's boyfriend Chris who took care of a large part of the tab that night! Such a gent.

A couple of Lea's best friends from home!

Lea is still really close with a big group of her college friends, all of whom I have gotten to know really well over the years as well. Go Owls!

Erin's boyfriend is in the Marines and she calls him 'Monkey' so of course she had to take some pics with the giant monkey sculpture to send to him. We were both missing our men that night! Funny thing is, the two of them met on a cruise!

Smash! One of Leas college roommates names was Ashley as well.

Our cabana to the left!The one to the right was occupied by NJ Nets BBall payer Jason Collins.

The indoor area also had a rooftop pool and some swings and things to hang out on.

Also living it up on the rooftop that night were some of the coaches from the Liverpool soccer team. They had played Roma two nights earlier at Fenway, Lea had even gone to the game. The were really nice and had sweet British accents. They let us take a few pics with them before heading off to bed early.

SIBLEY girls! These were Leas roommates for most all of college, I miss theit house on Sibley so much! So many fun memories.

We headed back outside to spend the rest of the night hanging out by the cabana with friends and fam. Everyone was in a great mood and having a blast.

Lea and her older brother Michael, they are family to me!

One of my good friends from high school, Caitlin, lives in Southie as well so I texted her to see what she was up to and if she wanted to come by for a drink. Sure enough she was in town and stopped by with her brother. It was great to see her and we had a really nice catch-up chat!

Ugh, if not for the photo-bomber this would be a great pic! Lea and I along with her Mom and her Cousin Nicole. Her Mom is one of my other favorite people in the world. She's the best. And so are her Sunday breakfasts.

Oh Lea, I love you.

Last two left in the cabana. Love you lea!

We left the cabana at midnight because it closes due to noise ordinances. We really had an awesome time up there and the cabana staff was great. It's really awful that we cannot say that about the rest of the Revere hotel between the lobby staff, security, club staff and parking staff. The next hour between this last photo at the cabana and these next photos at the club were AWFUL. I cannot wait to finish my horrid review for Yelp and Trip Advisor. One star is one too many. But, we made the best of their utmost negligence, disrespect, and all around horrible service and when we FINALLY got into the club we managed to put it behind us and had a great time dancing and laughing the night away. I don't want the Revere staff to have any gratification in taking away any joy of Lea's night, it was amazing and I now she will remember it always! Happy 25th my dear Schmee!

After a 3am bedtime it was a rough wake up the next day but I surprisingly didn't feel all that bad. I had a nice breakfast at the Corner Cafe, a "California Benny", which was really good. Can't go wrong with bacon and avocado.

Then it was off to the Cape, Brewster to be exact, to shoot an elopement wedding at the Ocean's Edge Resort. Pam also had a small wedding that day at the same place so it totally worked out. We drove down together and she had to start with her wedding at 2:45. My wedding wasn't until 4:45 so I got to sit and have a snack and check out the grounds and where I should shoot. We have done tons of weddings at Ocean's Edge but it was really crowded that day so I wanted to see where else I could photograph them.

Love me some Cape Cod Hydrangeas. If you are ever looking for a great place to stay on the Cape, check out the Little Inn in Pleasant Bay in Harwhich. Most amazing hydrangeas and view and decor and staff!!

I had a snack on the terrace while I waited to start the elopement. Steak and cheese bruschetta. It was really good, but it was also really expensive. As in I had a $20 in my pocket and left with $1. And I drank a water. Oh well.

A bowl full of Werthers. Yes.

I snuck into Pam's wedding just to check it out.

The elopement went great and the couple was really nice. Kind of cool that besides the Justice of the Peace, I was the only person to witness their wedding! It was my first elopement but I hope it's not my last, so relaxed and easy compared to the craziness of a traditional wedding day! Any who it was early to bed for me that night. Sunday I hit up the Olde Salt House in Cohassett, which is attached to another great wedding venue on the South Shore, the Atlantica. Atlantic is pretty pricey to eat at but the Salt House has good drinks and seafood apps that aren't too expensive.

Had to stop at Marylou's before my ride home for an iced cinnamon hazelnut, and then right after that I saw a rainbow. A great way to end the weekend!

I should be back later this week for a Moosehead post from my trip to Maine. We took over 1,500 pictures so I am a bit overwhelmed with narrowing it down but I will get it done!

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I'm Ashley, a nautically obsessed twenty-something living in New England. I hope you follow along as I share my love for photography, food, fashion, and the sea. Life is an adventure and I am ready to set sail!